Back In Black
by DauntlessAdrenaline
Summary: A fic that explores Peter's policy of paying back his debts, and a possible explanation of Caleb's choices in Insurgent. No slash! Warning: a few Insurgent spoilers. Conversations in Amity... See inside for full summary! Please R&R.


**Peter and Caleb P. No slash! This is just about a conversation between the two set during the beginning of Insurgent, right before Peter attempts to steal the hard drive. I've often wondered why, towards the end of the book, we find that Caleb has suddenly sided with the Erudite, even as they experiment on his own sister. How strong is "faction before blood," really? So, to answer my own questions, I thought of a possible conversation between Caleb and Peter, in which their viewpoints on the war could have been slightly changed. It just so happens that Peter is the best liar. **

**Read and enjoy! Ooh, and review, too! **

**Just so ya know: I don't own Divergent or any of the characters featured here. **

**-DauntlessAdrenaline**

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To call Amity peaceful would be an understatement. The way birds chirp softly at all hours, the rustling of leaves, the distant stench of enriched fertilizer.. I have to admit I hate it all. Where is the life? The people here live ever-increasingly normal lives, only to be shattered one day by the realization that they never did anything that really matters.

The Amity grow food and try not to fight with anyone. That's all they have ever been, and that is all they will ever be. I am glad I chose Dauntless, the faction of the brave. We are the home of adrenaline junkies, where all the action happens. When I run with the Dauntless, my life is full of spark and purpose. I smile thinking about it, even as I tug a disgustingly dainty flower from its roots. It falls to the ground.

Footsteps. I stiffen, for I know who it is that has come. I suppose he wants to talk to me, mostly because he knows I will listen. We have something in common. We are traitors, both to our factions and to our own blood.

I know he doesn't think of it that way, but even I know better than his overcomplicated Erudite theories. I know what I am; he's still trying to make excuses under the guise of figuring it out. That is how we are different.

Still, I will listen, because I owe Caleb too much. He helped me on and off trains after Tris shot my arm. He basically dragged me into this place. Amity, a healing shelter for all. I am safe here, so I will stay until my arm is stronger. That would be smart of me (logical, as the Erudite might say).

Caleb appears beside me; I see him out of the corner of my eye. He is wearing a bright Amity yellow t-shirt, paired with Abnegation grey sweats. A paradox.

I wonder if I can tell the truth of my inhumane nature to myself now because of my Candor upbringing, but I know it isn't true. I'm too good of a liar for all that. It would make sense if I wasn't. Then I think of Caleb again as he moves to lean against the fence with me.

In Abnegation, he was probably taught to never think of himself. That is why it is such an enigma to him now, I assume. Caleb isn't saying anything, but I can tell from the far-off look in his eyes that he has something to say. He is just debating on whether he should say it.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" I sneer, though at least it is an acknowledgement. I don't owe him any more than that for now, though my slim conscience will pester me to do him a kindness later, I'm sure of it. I hate owing people. I especially hate owing Caleb, the blood brother of the girl who shot me. It makes it difficult to get back at Tris.

Caleb turns, his eyes narrowing as he snaps back at me. The expression reminds me too much of his sister. "Do you always have to be so prosaic?"

"Interesting insult, coming from a Erudite."

"_Former Erudite_."

"Whatever. Point is, you obviously came to vent about something."

Caleb sighs, runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know why I keep coming to you, though."

"Well, thinking from a logical standpoint.. Like you're _supposed_ to... Why would that be?"

I can't stop myself from the snark. Caleb is just too easy. I smile innocently as Caleb glares at me again.

"Speaking of.. I'm really beginning to question my decision to speak with you at all."

"If I shut up and listen, like you know I will, it might not be so bad."

Yikes. I didn't mean to sound so Amity there. These cheerful folks are really getting to me.

"Hmm." Caleb mulls this over for a little bit. I can see the gears whirring in his mind. If there is one good thing about having factions, it is that everyone is easy to figure out. Only the Divergent are difficult, which makes them dangerous. Even when they hide behind the faces of cute little girls.

Caleb seems to have finished thinking, as he clears his throat. I motion for him to go on. "I've just been thinking about the attack, and how everything has changed. My parents are both dead, and I have been decieved by my own faction."

"Haven't we all?"

"I suppose that's true. But what really troubles me is.. I don't have a record of my parents. They were Abnegation; they didn't exactly keep many personal items. I mean, Tris has the hard drive, but she's holding on to that in a vice. I can't get my hands on it."

Suddenly, I'm curious. Caleb's eyes are downcast, so I need to act fast before his thoughts flutter away. "So you're saying that your parents are on the hard drive?"

Caleb rolls his eyes, as if he can't believe I don't get it. So typically Erudite. Their faction is almost as easy to manipulate as Candor was back in school. "Yes. It has all the data from the attack."

Hmm. Important information to have, it seems. I've got to get my hands on that hard drive, I can just feel it. I'm not sure how much that data is worth, but it is obviously enough. I've got to make a go of it.

Once I get the drive, I can leave Amity. It would work out perfectly. I could simultaneously spite Tris and one-up myself in this war. No need to be the wounded straggler, or the person not to be trusted. This chance could change things.

"Well, I think Tris is being a bit unreasonable," I reply smoothly, in the same voice I used to schmooze my teachers with. "Can't you share it?"

"No, it's like she's in a fog." Caleb screws up his face and shakes his head. He looks lost, real lost. Something is bugging me; I have to at least pay him back before I go. I take a deep breath. I'm not used to being nice, but it is what I must be now. The Erudite value knowledge, so that will be my gift to Caleb.

"I know how you feel. You think you betrayed your family for leaving, and then you didn't even get to talk to them before this war happened and they died. Your faction is split, as is mine, and you're wondering where you should go."

Caleb looks up at me, startled. Probably didn't think I could be so deep. I stare him down for full effect, then continue.

"I'll tell you what you've got to do, Caleb. In times like this, you've got to follow your own nature. You've got to look out for number one. You know that's what Tris is doing, so you've got to decide what you really want to do. Choose a side and then stick to it! You can't waste your time wondering if you made a mistake, because if it benefits you, it isn't. Faction before blood, remember?"

Caleb narrows his eyes. "Are you telling me I should join the Erudite?"

"You should do what you want to do," I shrug. "Who knows? Maybe the Erudite side isn't as bad as it is made out to be. It seems like Jeanine wouldn't randomly start a war, right? There's gotta be a reason."

"True.." Caleb has his thinking face again. The corners of his mouth are twitching, trying to smile, but he doesn't want me to see. Again, I can read his mind like a book. Now he's thinking maybe his faction wasn't all that bad; maybe he can be redeemed. I've given him some hope. Now, there is only one more thing I have to say before my debt is fulfilled. He needs direction.

"If I were you," I begin cautiously, watching his barely-there smile go flat. He is thinking deeper now. "I would go and figure things out for myself. Do what you need to do, Caleb."

I finish softly, trying to make my voice sound as comforting as I can. It feels weird coming off my lips, but I think Caleb believes it. I turn to leave, but Caleb stops me with a hand on my arm. He looks me in the eye, and I almost think he's figured out my lies.

"Thank you," is all he says.

I nod curtly back at him, and he lets me pull away. As I walk down the hall, I let out a breath of relief and rub the arm, trying to rub his touch off of me. My debt has been paid, and I feel free.

Now, about that drive. A new problem for me to tackle. The start of a new, more advantaged life. A way to get Tris back.

But most of all, it is a way to get out off this green-ridden place, where the birds chirp and the people laugh in shades of red and yellow.

I can't wait to be back in black.

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**Also inspired by an awesome ACDC song, in case you didn't catch that. I think that would have been Peter's ultimate theme song during this time in Insurgent.. He just seems to want to get on with his life the way it was. He definitely has his own agenda during the war, considering not just the morally right side (which ever side that may have been), but the one that benefits him personally. It is true that Peter is selfish, but I've always found his character to be quite intriguing, his policy of always paying off his debts being the most interesting of these. I thought I would explore that a little in this story.. Also I kinda felt the need to post something new. Regardless of MY motives, please review and help me better my writing! :) **

**-DauntlessAdrenaline  
**


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